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St. Louis Blues’ Veteran Core Proving Itself in Playoffs

By Steven McNeil

Mar 15, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; St. Louis Blues center David Backes (42) and left wing Alexander Steen (20) and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (27) celebrate the power play goal by Steen against the Dallas Stars during the third period at the American Airlines Center. The Blues shut out the Stars 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 15, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; St. Louis Blues center David Backes (42) and left wing Alexander Steen (20) and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (27) celebrate the power play goal by Steen against the Dallas Stars during the third period at the American Airlines Center. The Blues shut out the Stars 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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We have been hearing for years now that the St. Louis Blues’ core had issues coming through in the playoffs. Things have taken a turn for the better this year.

The St. Louis Blues have had struggles in the playoffs in the past and a lot of the fault has been placed on the shoulders of Alex Steen, David Backes, and Alex Pietrangelo. This has changed now and is a major reason why the Blues are where they are now.

In the ten playoffs games that they have played so far, these three guys have a total of nine goals and 19 assists for a total of 28 points. While the trio has had their struggles in the past during the playoffs, they have been even bigger than the scoresheet shows.

This Blues’ team features a strong mix of young players and veterans and these three are showing that they are willing to put this team on their back and get things done.

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Most importantly David Backes is showing why he is this team’s captain. He is tied for the team lead in goals during the playoffs with Vladimir Tarasenko, second on the team in hits to Troy Brouwer with 42, second on the team in FOW% (Faceoff Win %) to Paul Stastny with 53.9%. Not only that, Backes hasn’t committed a single penalty this postseason.

If this doesn’t scream captain, then I don’t know what does. Backes is going to make it a very hard decision for the front office this summer when it comes to his potential resigning. Regardless of what happens in the offseason, it is clear that Backes is ready to continue to put this team on his back and lead them to victory.

Pietrangelo and Steen have been great in their own right and there’s no doubting that either. Pietrangelo not only leads his team with his 10 takeaways but is also fifth in the entire league with that number.

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He is being recognized as potentially the best defenseman left in the NHL Playoffs. That is saying something when you still have the Nashville Predators’ Shea Weber playing in the other Western Conference semifinal against the San Jose Sharks.

While Steen has the lower point total of the three with just six points, his six goals have been key goals for this team. That is including his game-tying goal in the first period of game three and his dagger of a goal in the second period on the power play.

Steen has been lauded by Ken Hitchcock as the “best player on the team” and possibly one of the most “complete players in the league”. Steen was one of the keys to the Blues holding Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to one goal between the two and has done his job defensively in this series as well, so it is easy to see why Hitch believes this.

Next: Alex Pietrangelo Improving his Play in Playoffs

While he is still going up against the Stars’ best lines, I think that Tuesday was a result of him finally having room to work offensively and not having to key on one of the best players in the world at the same time. This is Steen’s potential breakout series and it showed on Tuesday night. Even if Steen doesn’t break out offensively more than he did in game three, his defensive work is st

Even if Steen doesn’t break out offensively more than he did in game three, his defensive work will still be incredibly important to the success of this team.

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